La Mothe-Saint-Héray: Holiday apartments and holiday homes

Culture

In La Mothe-Saint-Héray, the Orangerie was built between 1634 and 1640 by Nicolas Tillon for Henri de Baudean and Catherine de Pardailhan Armagnac. The Jardins de l'Orangerie are laid out as a formal French garden along a large canal, with boxwood beds as well as orange and lemon trees. The Orangerie has been protected as an immovable historic monument since 18 December 1927.

The Église Saint-Héray also reaches far back into the history of the town: it was built entirely in the 15th century. With the exception of the tip of the tower, it was classified as a “Monument historique” by decree of 22 October 1913.

The Moulin à eau de Pont-l'Abbé has preserved most of its historic mechanisms and machinery. The former Moulin à eau de Pont-l'Abbé has been developed for tourism since the early 1990s.

Anyone wishing to rent a holiday apartment in La Mothe-Saint-Héray can plan their stay accordingly.

Nature

The mill section of the Moulin l’Abbé was converted into a museum. A botanical garden was created around the Moulin l’Abbé, and the Sèvre River runs through it.

The ZNIEFF “Plaine de la Mothe Saint-Heray Lezay” is considered an open agricultural landscape with bocage, wet meadows and calcareous dry grasslands. It is known for its importance as a habitat for birds of open plains.

Routes and events

The Tèrra-Aventura route “Vive la Rosière” is a 3-kilometre geocaching trail with several puzzles. It starts in the car park in front of La Mothe-Saint-Héray town hall. Tèrra Aventura also offers a guided treasure hunt that begins at Place Clémenceau.

Signposted discovery trails start at the Moulin l’Abbé and lead to viewpoints over the town as well as along the Sèvre niortaise. La Mothe-Saint-Héray also has the riding route “Sur la route de la fouace”.

The Fête des Rosières includes a partially public wedding ceremony on the first Saturday in September and lasts from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. The municipality holds two exhibitions per year in the Orangerie.

Practical information

There is a tourist information office at the Moulin l’Abbé during the season. The Église Saint-Héray is open to the public on Thursdays from 10:00 to 12:00 and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 17:00.

More destinations: Fors, Échiré, Chiché, Augé, Saint-Aubin-le-Cloud, Germond-Rouvre, Saint-Georges-de-Noisné, Chenay

Back to the higher-level travel overview: Deux-Sèvres.